1984 Ford F150 Shortbed - Hidden In Plain Sight

If you're around customs enough, over time you tend to see a lot of repetitious changes. You look at a truck once, start a mental inventory of the obvious mods, and say to yourself: "Seen it." Having spent practically his entire life building cars, Glenn Bogle has become uniquely adept at making modifications that those who aren't wise to the reality of the situation might miss. His '84 F-150 shortbed is the perfect case in point. At first glance you might just be tempted to think it only has a few tweaks here and there. But as you get closer and take a few walks around this deceptive Ford, you'll notice there's more than meets the eye.

Around 1990, Glenn's father gave him this truck as a secondary means of transportation. True to his nature, Glenn was eventually compelled to turn this truck into a true head-turner. The first thing Glenn got the itch to do was address the paint and body. Initially, Glenn had planned to do an all-black paint job, but then he got to thinking about how it would look with purple scallops. He added some PPG Blue Pearl to the Plum Crazy base and laid out what many people can't believe is a paint job done in 1994.

And you can bet that the body mods don't stop there. Glenn changed the latches to accommodate a '91 F-150 tailgate, which gives the rear a more flush appearance, as opposed to the recessed look of the original. The smoked lenses and way the paint is laid out hide the taillights so well that it causes some to ask Glenn: "Where are your brake lights?" He also added a third brake light out of a Nissan Sentra. Also, the Escort outside mirrors are so unobtrusive, they look as if they were made specifically for the truck. After seeing a coworker's Dodge Ram, Glenn got to thinking how its headlights would look on his. After making his own brackets and parking-light lenses, he installed the '92 Ram headlights, which seamlessly blend into the front fascia. Glenn removed the license-plate recession in the front bumper and grafted in a piece to continue the streamlined look. Look below that and you'll find the Lexus parking lights molded into the lower tubing-all created by Glenn.

The chassis mods and stance might give gawkers the idea that it's hiding a Mustang II suspension underneath, but don't be fooled. Upon inspecting the frontend as it previously existed, Glenn wanted to keep the I-beam, but make everything sit a little lower. He discovered that by bringing the '91 F-150 beams up 1 inch in the crossmember, moving the radius arms from the bottom of the frame to the side of the frame, and clipping a coil out of the springs, he could accomplish the same effect in ride height. In order to prevent any tire grinding, Glenn clearanced the inner fender structure and made his own closure panels so the look is clean and functional. With 1-inch blocks in the C-notched rear (now complete with a 9-inch), the truck finally sits where Glenn likes it. The 18x7-inch (front) and 20x8-inch (rear) Torq-Thrusts wrapped in Kumho rubber are icing on the cake.

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Glenn's love for this truck and its hidden treasures isn't just in making it aesthetically pleasing, either. For power, Glenn yanked the stock 302 and replaced it with a 1984 351W. The new mill is punched 0.030 over and sports an Edelbrock manifold, TRW slugs, a COMP hydraulic cam, and a Holley 600-cfm carb. The C6 trans came out of a former project, a '72 'Stang, and was rebuilt by a friend of Glenn's to keep the shifting firm. Exhaust is handled courtesy of Mustang headers and Dynomax bullet mufflers. Because the F-150 is the more uncommon shortbed, people often believe it's not a fullsize truck and ask Glenn how he was able to fit this particular engine in. Unbeknownst to quite a few, Glenn could have made an even bigger engine fit.

The interior is yet another source of mistaken identity. Glenn found that '90-91 Ford trucks basically have the same cab dimensions as his '84. After locating the seat, headliner, and sunvisors out of a '91, Glenn added those to the list of mods that would most likely go unnoticed. After adding gray carpet to match the new interior, Glenn did up the rest inside with a Billet Specialties steering wheel to match. He also added a factory air kit, and changed the dash to accommodate.

Don't just keep your eye out for this truck, keep your eye on it. Knowing Glenn, he's bound to do more that'll keep you guessing.